Secrets of the Hidden Compartment

Armed guards surrounded the building!... The officer in charge recognized Fayaz and saluted. Fayaz engaged in some formal official talk with him and then went straight to the caretaker's room, whose doors were open, and inside, the caretaker was apparently in meditation. At the sound of Fayaz's footsteps, he opened his eyes, which were glowing like embers.

"What is it?" he said in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing. I came to see if everything is alright!" Fayaz replied.

"I don't understand what all this is about. The police have gone mad like those idiots."

"Like which idiots?"

"Those who think there is a treasure in the grave of a martyred man."

"Whatever it may be," Fayaz said, "we don't want bodies to keep turning up from here daily. If necessary, the grave will be dug up."

"You will be destroyed!" the caretaker roared. "You will spit blood.... you will die!"

"Is there really a treasure in it?"

At this, the caretaker began to thunder and roar again! Fayaz kept looking at his watch repeatedly. It had been fifteen minutes since Imran had left. He kept the caretaker engaged in conversation... Suddenly, a strange sound was heard! The caretaker jumped up and turned around... A large gap was visible in the wall behind him! Fayaz stood bewildered. He was wondering what had suddenly happened to the wall. He had been in this room several times before, but it had never crossed his mind that there could be a secret door here! Suddenly, the caretaker let out a scream and rushed into the door! Fayaz was terribly flustered. He took out a flashlight from his pocket and then entered the same door!... It was dark all around! He was probably walking through a basement! After walking a bit further, he saw stairs... There was a cemetery-like silence here! Fayaz started climbing the stairs, and when he reached the top, he found himself emerging from the grave of the deceased master, whose tombstone was standing straight up like the lid of a box.

The beam of the flashlight was circling around the courtyard, then Fayaz saw the caretaker emerging from the crime scene room.

"You people have ruined me!" he screamed when he saw Fayaz. "Come and see your deeds!" He went back into the room. Fayaz swiftly lunged towards him.

The beam of the flashlight fell on the wall. Much of the plaster here was peeled off, and in the same spot, three large knives were embedded, each spaced five inches apart. Fayaz stepped forward!... Behind the peeled plaster was a large compartment, and the other ends of the knives disappeared into it. Besides these knives, there was nothing else in the compartment.

The caretaker was glaring at Fayaz with a wrathful look.

"What is all this?" Fayaz asked, staring at the caretaker.

The caretaker cleared his throat as if he wanted to say something, but unexpectedly, he delivered a powerful blow to Fayaz's chest and leaped away! Fayaz fell flat on his back. Before he could recover, his right hand had already drawn the revolver from its holster, but it was useless; the caretaker had jumped into the grave.

Fayaz got up and ran towards the grave... but even upon reaching the caretaker's room, he couldn't find any trace of him. Fayaz exited the building; the duty constables were still in their places and also claimed they hadn't seen anyone running away. They thought no one had come out of the building.

Suddenly, he thought of Imran! Where had he gone? Could it be that this was his doing? What was in that secret compartment?... Now, everything was clear in Fayaz's mind! The secret of the corpse, the three wounds... with intervals of five inches each... Suddenly, someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

Fayaz turned around with a startle! Imran was standing there, looking utterly disheveled.

"So it was you," Fayaz said, glaring at him from head to toe.

"It wasn't me, but I am here... hoping to stay alive for a few more days."

"What did you take out from there?"

"They beat me to it, my dear," Imran said in a choked voice. "They had already cleared it out before me. I just wanted to examine the mechanism of that secret compartment, but as soon as I touched a latch, the grave cracked open!"

"But what was there?"

"Those remaining papers that weren't in the leather handbag."

"What? You fool, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Fayaz said, slapping his forehead. "But how did they get inside?"

"Come, I'll show you." Imran said, moving to one side -- he led Fayaz towards the western corner of the building. Here, there were man-sized bushes against the wall. Imran moved the bushes aside and shone the flashlight, and Fayaz's mouth fell open in astonishment. There was a hole in the wall large enough for a person to easily pass through while sitting.

"This is very bad," Fayaz muttered.

"And where is that seasoned caretaker?" Imran asked.

"He got away too! But how did you get inside?"

"Through this path! It only occurred to me today about these bushes."

"What will you do with the remaining documents now?" Fayaz asked helplessly.

"I'll return the remaining documents to them too. Half of the documents are of no use. Whoever has them should have the complete set. After that, I'll arrange for a grave to be allotted in my name to spend the rest of my life."